PUBLIC HEALTH
Rural healthcare workers must address the health needs of their larger communities, not just the individual patient in front of them. Practical knowledge of and continuous linkage with Public Health is required to address both individual and community needs.
Health Equity and Social Justice
This module will provide students foundational concepts, terms and frameworks to address rural health disparities in Colorado. Students will gain an understanding of social determinants of health that lead to health disparities for minoritized communities; and explore how power, privilege, and oppression manifest at individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels. Students will also learn how their individual and interpersonal actions can promote social justice, along with working with existing rural Colorado-focused programs and policies that promote health equity.
School Nursing in Rural Colorado
This module explores how school nursing in rural areas of the state differs from what is seen in urban areas. It focuses on socioeconomic, ethnic, and health disparities seen in rural schools. Also addressed are issues related to staffing, EMS availability, and proximity to health care services.
Lifestyle Recommendations and Chronic Conditions in Rural Colorado: Challenges and Opportunities
This module will explore the challenges and opportunities related to promoting lifestyle recommendations for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and obesity in rural Colorado. Students will gain an understanding of how rurality may impact managing and preventing health conditions and recommendations and strategies to improve diet and physical activity related health outcomes in these areas.
Introduction to Rural Public Health in Colorado
This module builds on the fundamentals of public health and applies the lens of the public health sector to rural Colorado. Students will learn how public health systems operate in Colorado — with a special focus on how rural communities experience unique health challenges and opportunities. The module will highlight Colorado’s decentralized public health system, the role of local public health agencies, and key disparities that shape rural population health.
Structure and Function of Rural Public Health
Brief overview of the basics of public health
Covered in this module are the basics of public health, including the core functions of public health systems, the essential public health services, social determinants of health and an overview of health systems and public health funding. Concepts from public health foundations are applied to the context of rural versus urban settings and examples of existing public health initiatives.
Rural Healthy People 2030
This module dives into the rural perspective on Healthy People 2030 by comparing data published on Colorado and data gathered on a national level presented by the Rural Healthy People 2030 report published by the Texas A&M Health Southwest Rural Health Research Center. Students will gain a better understanding of the current climate surrounding rural public health – learning what the top priorities are now, and how they have shifted over time.